JUCO World Series is back in its panoramic Colorado home

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — The games are played at Sam Suplizio Field, a dandy of a baseball diamond with a magnificent view from behind home plate of the Grand Mesa — the country’s largest flattop mountain.

The NJCAA’s Division I Junior College Baseball World Series is on after being canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 10-team, double-elimination tournament opens May 29 and runs through June 4, or June 5 if necessary.

Opening day features a quadruple-header, beginning at 9 a.m. local time, with the final game set for 7:30 p.m.

For those not in the junior college loop, walking onto the field named for a 1950s New York Yankees’ top prospect is a dream realized for any player aspiring to compete for a championship no matter the level of competition.

It’s a bit of hike to get to Grand Junction. About four hours west of Denver and 4 ½ hours southeast of Salt Lake City, it’s a place where roads marked as 25 ½ and F ¾ make perfect sense. But it’s been the host of the JUCO World Series — the condensed version —- since 1959. Recently, the contract between the NJCAA and the city was extended through 2045.

"It was a difficult year for everyone because of COVID, and it will be a little different this year," longtime JUCO World Series tournament chairman Jamie Hamilton said. "The bottom line is our family reunion is back.”

It will be different. The stadium seats about 7,000 but can hold close to 10,000. Following the COVID-19 guidelines set by the Grand Junction Health Department, masks are optional, social distancing is required and attendance is limited to 3,000.

Most of the field will be determined by the end of the weekend, and for the first time the NJCAA will seed teams rather than using a regional rotation system.

District playoffs were played in...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/JUCO-World-Series-is-back-in-its-panoramic-16196286.php